Flux Without Pause Jason Haye
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This document summarizes a student's experience with racism and lack of accountability at University Campus Suffolk (UCS). It details how an artist made racist remarks during a talk, and the institution failed to adequately address complaints. The student created artworks responding to the incident, but faced censorship and claims his concerns were about free speech rather than racism. An investigation found the department mishandled the situation initially. The student argues this displays examples of white privilege within the institution and its policies.
Flux Without Pause Jason Haye
- 1. "All we have to do is brush information against information, and it doesn't matter what. By that brushing we will be made aware of the world which itself is doing that." -John Cage
- 2. University Campus Suffolk (UCS) is an educational institution located in the English county of Suffolk. UCS is a collaboration between the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia which sponsor its formation and validate its degrees. UCS accepted its first students in September 2007. Until then Suffolk was one of only four countries in England which did not have a University campus.
- 3. School of Arts and Humanities University Campus Suffolk BA (Hons) Fine Art Dissertation Designing the network: can crowdsourcing provide socially engaged art? By Jason Haye (S152315)
- 4. Frameworks: Ranci¨¨re collage For critical art to raise the awareness of its framework in order to transform the spectator into an active member of changing the world, it needs to work in and around the boundaries of where the subject matter forms with the aesthetic form. Habermas/Bakhtin Dialogical model of constructing an area which he referred to as a public sphere where the different forms of social pieces can intersect their thoughts without being constrained.
- 6. Sent to the students and staff of the fine art department 17th Feb:- Dear All, Maggi Hambling will be coming into discuss her work on March 3rd at 3pm. This talk will be in Lecture Theatre 5 in the West Building and you should all consider it as a mandatory event. As part of this I would like to ask you, as students (and staff), to let me have well thought out and intelligent questions that will be used as a basis for my conversation with her. Please let me have these by email as soon as possible so I can select the best ones. Best regards, (fine art course leader)
- 7. Precursor to the talk ? Maggi Hambling C.B.E is a British contemporary painter and sculptor. ? Maggie Hambling is a regular donator to fine art auctions. ? Hambling turned down an honorary degree from U.C.S ? Hambling is friends with the fine art course leader ? The fine art course leader was my tutor for the final year of my degree ? All students had to attend the talk ? I was asked on the day to film the talk ? I was the only black person in the room
- 8. In the days after the talk ? I asked students and lectures about what they thought about Hamblings remarks and the responses I got back were: ? ¡°She is just an old lady¡± ? ¡°Get over it¡±! ? ¡°What has slavery got to do with you and your family ?¡± ? ¡°Your surname is the same as my surname¡±
- 10. I created an art video inspired by Ralph Ellison¡¯s book Invisible man
- 11. Shock ¨C Where the artist appropriates themes or objects into alienated spaces of new symbology of a transgressive action while keeping the face of it original appearance. - Ways of producing critical art - Ranci¨¨re
- 12. March 11th ? I met the fine art course leader the day after he sent me an e-mail demanding to take the invisible man video down from the internet or face possible legal action despite the talk being held in a public setting ? He asked me if people were so offended by Hambling¡¯s remarks then why didn¡¯t they say something at the time ? ? I asked him why didn¡¯t he say something at the time ? ? He said ¡°I was going by the crowds response¡±
- 13. A letter from one of the students who attended the talk 7/3/14 Dear David Re: Maggie Hambling Like many public speakers, Ms Hambling uses unexpected statements to elicit laughter in her audience. She is the catalyst for people¡¯s responses and we each have to take responsibility for how we respond. Personally, I regret not standing up in silent demonstration of my profound disagreement with Ms Hambling¡¯s desire to have slaves in her studio. I feel that on Monday the audience was at best passive; we did not have an automatic and appropriate response when we heard someone using what amounts to inhuman acts of violence against others as material thought suitable for our collective amusement.
- 14. Monday 24th March¡¡3 weeks after the talk The arts desk Q&A with Maggi Hambling in 2010 Hambling¡¯s painting sold for ?650
- 15. Praxis Banking education Understanding the oppressor Neoliberalism in universities Setting up social movements for agency ¡°Power must learn how to tremble¡± Making the invisible visible Pushing against the grain
- 16. Stuart Hall on articulation The form of the connection that can make a unity of two different elements, under certain conditions. It is a linkage which is not necessary, determined, absolute and essential for all time. You have to ask, under what circumstances can a connection be forged or made?
- 17. I believe that the response to Miss Hambling¡¯s remarks were not addressed earlier because of: ? The commodity that the artist in question brings to the fine art department via reputation. ? The artist had work at the degree auction which took place on the 25th March. ? The bias of the fine art course leaders friendship with Miss Hambling.
- 18. Examples: ? Setting up a hierarchical framework for the talk which gave an over importance¡¯s to the artist e.g. sending e-mails asking for intelligent questions limiting the space to challenge the artist opinions. ? Not sending a simple apology to the group for her remarks that would of showed that he was aware of what had taken place. ? A letters of complaint referred to as people "jumping on the band wagon" ? Censoring my work by mentioning legal action and saying that needed permission and calling the event a private talk when there were members of the public in attendance. ? Advising the fine art student rep not to mention the incident at an upcoming committee meeting.
- 19. Are their any limits to freedom of speech ?............8 weeks after the incident took place ? When I found out the title of the debate I decided to create a petition for the students and outside voices to not have the money from the sale of the Hambling painting not to be included in the degree show fund as it represented inequality over equality and commodity over student well being.
- 22. Daily Mail
- 23. Provost investigation findings 7 weeks April 22nd Point 3 I do have some sympathy with Jason¡¯s view that his concern was not initially taken as seriously as he had would have liked by the department. I think this is largely due to the face the department believed that his concerns related to issues around freedom of speech. While freedom of speech is an essential cornerstone of higher education debate it was not the central issue here and I think the department response was largely due to this misunderstanding. Indeed Jason¡¯s view that the department¡¯s suggestion by way of an debate on free speech would not be particularly helpful is one I share.
- 25. May 9th ? This statement was sent on the day of the red room talk ? During that week the students had voted to give the money to a charity which I announced during the public talk. ? No students or staff from the fine art department attended the red room talk
- 27. The week following The red room talk May ? During the meeting with the fine art course leader, he offered me mitigating circumstance despite my work being more than strong enough for assessment. ? This was offer was made along statements saying how he was close to quitting his job after reading the newspaper coverage. ? Telling me to say ¡°well done to my friends¡± adding that they have ¡°broken¡± Maggie Hambling over this incident. ? Saying that he didn¡¯t want attend the redroom event about racism that he was forced to create the freedom of speech debate.
- 28. The majority of Students voted May 13th twice in favor of the money going to charity in May The majority of Students voted twice in favor of the money going to charity in Ma.y No feedback was given back to the students via student union or the fine art department. In July after being prompted the Dean mentioned that the money had been held back for next years students. During this time period, I boycotted the degree show catalogue because the matter had not been resolved. Students had finished the course and many of them had left the are without knowing the result of the vote and the conclusion to the decision. July
- 29. The work that I have created over the four months has shown: ? Institutional racism within the university in the fact that racism is seen in their eyes as only a problem for non white people. ? The lack of critical thinking being taught to art students keeping them docile to react to incidents of this nature. ? The lack of control that the fine art students had in their degree show. ? The lack of acknowledgement toward Socially engaged art in fine art. ? The disconnection between parts of the town and the university. ? The power of providing civic value to help a cause.
- 30. The process of making this work has made: ? People more aware of their frameworks and showing that they can make a change. ? Changed some peoples mind-sets towards the awareness of the other ? Provided the opportunity for the fine art course to grow by exposing the flaw¡¯s that are there within the department
- 33. An example of the marking process which gave me a 3+ Degree Project Assessment Feedback 1.3 It was noted that selection and curating of work in line with the assessment criteria had brought down the grading. It was noted that assessors had felt the work had been difficult to access. The physical barrier of the tape created a conflict. Taken from my A.N Blog which a hard copy was included in my assessment piece. Pierre Bourdieu field theory explains my decision to use my studio space as an assessment for my final work. The biggest casualty of having this experience was that it derailed my ideas for my degree show plus over the 2 months because of the tension with the group my space was a very awkward place to being in almost like a scene of a crime where ideas have been killed. So I will be using police styled tape off my space, three strips will be used to capture the three Boundaries that I have had to face in understanding my surroundings which are: *The artist comments *The reaction to the comments *The failure of my environment to take this matter seriously
- 35. In the shadow of white privilege¡ making the invisible visible A case study of the University of Suffolk¡¯s handling of racism/discrimination Jason Haye August
- 36. In the shadow of white privilege The reason why I have created this presentation is because despite U.C.S showing they do not understand the true notion of diversity. They will use my cultural background via statistics and images to promote to potential customers, a surface level of diversity¡ which is a weak notion of diversity.
- 37. Examples of White privilege ? Why did the fine art department misunderstand the reaction about the Hambling incident as a matter about freedom of speech despite receiving letters of complaint about slavery ? Why did no students or staff from the fine art department attend the End Racism event despite creating a debate about freedom of speech weeks earlier from the same subject matter? Why would next years students want to use money generated from a incident of discrimination that created an hostel environment that eventually denied a black student a overall 2-1 grade ? After finding out about the Hambling incident 7 weeks later, why did the Provost delegate the handling of this subject matter to people who had already shown their lack of judgment resolving this incident? Why did the university prevent the social work department from using the invisible man video as an case study in discrimination?
- 38. Examples of White privilege ? If there are traces of white privilege within the university how does that fit in with the.. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SUFFOLK EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY 3.4 Indirect Discrimination Indirect discrimination occurs when a policy or practice applies to everybody, but the policy or practice has a disproportionate impact on people with a protected characteristic. 3.6 Victimization Victimization occurs where a person is treated badly because they have made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act, or because they are suspected of doing so. This protection does not apply to anyone who has maliciously made or supported an untrue complaint.
- 41. Stage 1 complaint findings Equality & Diversity Committee ? Briefing to be produced on advice and guidance for visiting speakers ? Proposing future objectives that staff and students will have an understanding of difference and diversity and the value that these bring to a community. ? All members of the community and visitor to UCS should not be made to feel alienated or humiliated while participating in any activity given or sponsored by UCS
- 42. While the Stage 1 complaint investigation was taking place: ? UCS invited Maggie Hambling¡¯s work back on the premises ? UCS claimed that the Student union were in charge of the final decision over the distribution of the ?650 despite releasing a Statement saying other wise ? Only one student turned up for a charity event from the majority vote which highlighted the apathy produced from UCS lack of action. ? Being informed by one of the fine art lectures that the course leader did not want to mark my work highly because it would set a precedent for what he saw as "radical" art.